Los Angeles County will require hospitals to report patients infected with carbapenem-resistent enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, a deadly superbug with the potential to kill nearly half the individuals that contract the bacteria, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles County had stopped requiring hospitals in its district to report patients who contracted the bacteria in 2012 due to " resource limitations," according to the article. Now, hospitals will be required to do so.
Deputy Director of the county's acute communicable disease control program Dawn Terashita said nursing homes and clinics won't be required to report patients with CRE. Hospitals will also not be required to report whether patients with CRE survive or die.
There have been three reported instances of CRE infection in the county since 2014. The cases were traced back to a type of medical scope that had been proven to be particularly difficult to disinfect, according to the article. It is unknown whether the same type of medical scope was used in Manhattan Beach resident's surgery.
The Center for Disease Control has advised all municipal health officials to require health facilities report cases of CRE, or, at minimum, survey hospitals and nursing homes for evidence of the superbug.